Inside the Redzone (DC) – Conference Semi-Finals

 

Welcome to Inside The Redzone a la Elite Eight! The first round of playoffs was very exciting to watch and most of the teams who were supposed to win, did win. However we also saw our first upset in which the Green Machine knocked out the Cobras. WOW! I still can’t believe the Cobras were defeated in the first round however their downfall was their defense, something I had pointed towards all season long. What surprises me is that they had added Simon Rheaume to address their defensive problems (and he had a pick six special against the Green Machine) but apparently it wasn’t enough. One thing is certain, Cobras have a long off-season ahead of them but something tells me they’ll address their issues and come back stronger than ever. Let’s not take anything away from Green Machine who played a hell of a game. Patrice Blouin has improved his game steadily and Eric Forget is a great leader for this team; throw in Rob White and you have a team who can potentially cause more damage in the playoffs but as Moe Khan says, “Time will tell.”

 

I would like to give a special thanks to all teams (For Teh Lulz, Balls Deep, Mongoose, Cobras, etc…) that fell short of a win last weekend but made this season a great one to watch. These teams have a promising future in FlagPlus Football and I am looking forward to seeing them in Winter 2010. One team in particular is For Teh Lulz who I mocked throughout the season but after watching them against the Triple Sixers, they impressed me. They gave a solid effort and went toe-to-toe with a high power squad. Unfortunately they just came up a little short at the end however they are on the right track and will only get better. I encourage all teams who are no longer in the playoffs to watch the remaining games because the Elite Eight (containing great teams such as Flying Weasels, Triple Sixers, KGP Champs) will be highly entertaining.

 

Without further ado, I will now break down and provide in depth analysis of the next round of playoffs.

 

 

Playoff Preview: Elite Eight

 

Conference A

 

(1) Flying Weasels vs. (4) BOOM! Goes the Dynamite

Season Series: Flying Weasels 33, BOOM! 7

 

Flying Weasels

 

Keys to success:

Þ Play stingy defense, their bread and butter in the season

Þ Dropped balls need to be an all-time minimum

Þ Protect the lead (BOOM! came overcame a 18 point deficit last week)

 

Key match up: David Faucher vs. Edward Shoshan

X-Factor: Marc-Andre Paquin

 

BOOM! Goes the Dynamite

 

Keys to success:

Þ Edward Shoshan must get off to a better start (not down 18-0)

Þ Time for the Saint (Francois that is) to do his magic

Þ Use all weapons, including Tim Kraemer who was absent last week

 

Key match up: Chris St. Francois vs. Martin Tougas

X-Factor: Chris Niphakis

 

Comments: Flying Weasels are the best team in Division C however they aren’t invincible. In their last two games, they beat the 8th place team by only one score in each game. On the other hand, BOOM! Goes the Dynamite is a team on the rise and it uses all its assets efficiently. Not to forget they just had an incredible comeback win which speaks volumes for their character. I like their chances in this game because I think they’ll play strong defense against the Martin Tougas led offense (especially if he hasn’t fully recovered from last week’s injury) and capitalize on their own chances on offense.

 

Prediction: BOOM! Goes the Dynamite

 

 

(2) Triple Sixers vs. (3) Flight Of The Concords

Season Series: FOTC 19, Triple Sixers 13

 

Triple Sixers

 

Keys to success:

Þ Must use the short game

Þ Have to neutralize Marvin Renaud

Þ Defense has to make big plays early to take FOTC out of rhythm

 

Key match up: Karim Chaoual vs. FOTC defense

X-Factor: Alexandre Giroux

 

Flight Of The Concords

 

Keys to success:

Þ Jonathan Lemieux needs to step up his game

Þ Other receivers (besides Marvin) need to step up

Þ Defense needs to get into Karim Chaoual’s head early

 

Key match up: Marvin Renaud vs. Karim Chaoual

X-Factor: Alexandre Girard

 

 

Comments: First time around, FOTC pulled out a close victory however that was the past and this is the present. The Triple Sixers learned from their mistakes and ready for round two, which takes place this Sunday. The firepower of the Triple Sixers that took over in the second half of their first round game (against FTL) will be very hard to stop. Furthermore the Triple Sixers defense led by Patrick Jerome has improved each week.

 

Prediction: Triple Sixers

 

 

Conference B

 

 

(1) KGP Champs vs. (7) Green Machine

Season Series: None

 

KGP Champs

 

Keys to success:

Þ Continue their dominance on offense

Þ Not get too confident

Þ Dave Levan must have a monstrous game to set the tone

 

Key match up: Phil Cutler vs. Marc-Andre Benoit

X-Factor: Phil Clark

 

Green Machine

 

Keys to success:

Þ Patrice Blouin must play even better than he did against Cobras

Þ Rob White needs to use his experience and lead this team

Þ Marc Andre Benoit has to get to Phil Cutler early

 

Key match up: Green Machine secondary vs. Olivier Saleh and Phil Clark

X-Factor: Rob White

 

Comments: KGP Champs are number 1 in Conference B for a reason and they should continue their domination against Green Machine however that doesn’t mean that this game is a lost cause. If we consider what Green Machine just did to Cobras, they are the Cinderella team. If they have any chance in this game, they must play a mistake free game and I look for Eric Forget and Rob White to come up large.

 

Prediction: KGP Champs

 

 

(3) Chaos vs. (5) Rude Bwoys

Season Series: Rude Bwoys 24, Chaos 20

 

Chaos

 

Keys to success:

Þ Defense has to come up big early and often to set the tone

Þ Eugene McLaren must keep it simple

Þ The unsung heroes such as Sebastien Leduc and Eric Vongsouthi must come up big

 

Key match up: Treldon James vs. Matt Clow

X-Factor: Eugene McLaren

 

 

Rude Bwoys

 

Keys to success:

Þ Matt Clow will need to carry the team

Þ On defense, they have to slow down Treldon James

Þ All receivers have to continue to do well (at least 5 receivers with 200 rec. yards)

 

Key match up: Vadim Chernyak vs. Eugene McLaren

X-Factor: Bryan Joseph

 

Comments: Rude Bwoys are no longer a dark horse team and have a legitimate shot at beating Chaos, for the second time. With Eugene McLaren and Mike Dwyer back in the line up, Chaos gets a huge boost and will need to play better defense than the first time these two teams played. Rude Bwoys will need to continue to get receiver contributions from every member of the team and capitalize on all opportunities.

 

Prediction: Team who scores the most points

 

 

Next week, we’re down to the Final Four. I have decided to postpone the unveiling of the ALL-STARWAR squad to next week, at which time the STAR-AWARDS© categories will also be announced. That’s it for this week, we are down to only EIGHT teams and the competition is heating up as every team has their eyes on the main prize. Also, please watch the Weekly Extra Point Live every Thursday for Moe, Daron, Ross and I will break down last week’s games and preview next week. As always, I welcome your feedback and welcome any suggestions you might have for my column. Please contact me at [email protected] or via Facebook. Good luck to all the sixteen teams this weekend and catch you all next week!